She gives me a warm smile before turning back to her computer.
I walk out of her office in a daze.
He showed up for me. Before I could fall on my own sword, before I could sacrifice everything to protect him, he marched into Dana’s office and took responsibility. He fought for me.
No one’s ever done that before.
Not Jason, who threw me under the bus the second things got hard. Not anyone since, because I never let anyone get close enough to have the chance.
But Zayden did. Without being asked. Without expecting anything in return.
I make it back to my office—my tiny, cramped, glorified closet of an office—and sink into my chair, pressing my hands over my face. I’m not going to cry. I’m not.
A knock on the door makes me jump.
I know who it is before I even look up. Zayden’s filling the doorway, still in his practice gear, hair damp with sweat. He must have come straight from the ice.
“Hey.” His voice is soft. Uncertain. “Dana said she talked to you.”
“She did.”
“And?”
“And I still have a job.” I stand up, moving toward him. “Because of you.”
He shrugs, but there’s a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “You would’ve done the same for me.”
“Maybe.” I stop in front of him, close enough to touch. “But no one’s ever done it for me before.”
Something shifts in his expression. He reaches for me, his hand cupping my jaw, thumb brushing my cheek.
“Get used to it,” he murmurs.
I want to kiss him. I want to grab him by the front of his jersey and pull him into this office to show him exactly how grateful I am.
Instead, I take a step back.
“Discreet,” I remind him. “Remember?”
He groans, dropping his hand. “Right. Discreet.” He glances at his watch, then back at me. “It’s almost lunchtime.”
“Okay?”
“Can you leave?”
I blink. “What?”
“Come to lunch with me.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “There’s a place around the corner with really good sandwiches.”
“You want to go get sandwiches?”
He grins. “I want to kiss you and since you just pointed out that I can’t do that here, yes. Let’s go get sandwiches.”
• • •
The sandwich place is a hole in the wall three blocks from the facility. Plastic tables, paper napkins, a counter where you order by number. It’s the least romantic setting imaginable.
I love it.
